The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will demolish six homes in Florissant in order to reach and clean up contaminated soil below their foundations starting Monday.
The homes are next to Coldwater Creek, parts of which are contaminated with radioactive waste from World War II-era efforts to build the nuclear bomb. The Corps will tear down the homes on Cades Cove one at a time over the course of about a month.
"We are dedicated to completing this work as safely and efficiently as possible, so that the community can move forward and thrive in a clean and safe environment," Col. Andy Pannier, commander of the St. Louis District, said in a statement Friday.
This is the first time the Army Corps' program for atomic energy waste has had to relocate residents to remediate soils, according to St. Louis-area spokesperson Jeremy Idleman. The homeowners were compensated, but Idleman would not say what they received.
A group of advocates said Friday that they were grateful to the Corps for doing the work, but that the demolition shows the seriousness of the contamination below the homes.
"It's a significant moment for this community, one that carries both progress and pain," said Chantelle Jones, chair of the North County Community Advisory Group.
After the demolition, the Corps will excavate soil from the site over the course of about a year. The agency said there will be strict controls during the remediation to prevent further contamination, including continuous air monitoring.
Florissant Mayor Timothy Lowery said at a press event on Friday that the city has demanded full transparency from the Corps about the project but has not fully received it.
"I was not personally notified of the demolition of the housing," Lowery said. "I've been told many times that they would contact me, keep me informed of what's going on. That just has not happened."
He said the city plans to "maintain heightened oversight" of the demolition to protect nearby residents and ensure compliance with local regulations.
The Army Corps said the work is a critical step to "protect the health and safety of the community." After the work is complete, the land will return to the homeowners.
Thousands of people are applying for federal compensation for illnesses they contracted after living or working near the contamination from the Manhattan Project. Last year, Congress passed legislation expanding the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to include ZIP codes in the St. Louis area.
As of Friday, more than 800 applications had been approved for more than $39 million in compensation, according to the Department of Justice.
"We are receiving communication from many of our applicants that they have, in fact, received their compensation," said Jones, who is also director of the Pink Angels Foundation, which is a RECA help center.
The federal funding was a huge win for advocates in the St. Louis region. Now, they say they are pushing for cleanup.
"Really, the top priority is to stop people from being harmed," said Dawn Chapman, co-founder of Just Moms STL. "We can't really say that that's not happening now, but that's our hope."
This story was updated with details about compensation for homeowners and the Army Corps program.
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